Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:
Dear devotees,
Today is Purattasi Thiruvonam - Thiruvengadamudaiyan's
thirunakshatram and the thirunakshatram of the incarnation
of His bell, Sri Venkatanathar also known as Sri Vedanta
Desikar. It is appropriate to study the last shloka of
Swami's Vairagya Pancakam on this day. On this day, we
should allow at least a little of his vairagyam to seep
into our lives - to follow our acharyas, to praise His
name whenever and wherever we can, and to put aside our
petty differences and do everything only in His service.
Let us all celebrate this noble acharya's thirunakshatram
today in union of spirit and mind.
adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan
--
Sri Vedanta Desikar's Vairagya Panchakam
Shloka 5:
sharIrapatanAvadhi prabhuniShevaNApAdanAt
abindhanadhananjayaprashamadam dhanam dandhanam |
dhananjayavivardhanam dhanamudUDha govardhanam
susAdhanamabAdhanam sumanasAm samArAdhanam ||
Meaning:
May the thing that sends us to the danger of seeking
the kings till this body drops and which pacifies the
fire in our stomachs be destroyed. We do not want it.
Our wealth is that which supported and built Arjuna,
that which lifted the Govardhana mountain, that which
fulfills the needs of the devas, that which is the
means to acheieve anything, and that which never allows
anything bad to befall those who believe in it. That
is what we possess.
Sri PBA Swami's Commentary:
Those who bow before the lowly kings and accept wealth
have to keep doing that throughout their lives. That
they have to bow to them before gaining wealth is
obvious. But couldn't they leave the kings after
obtaining the wealth? No, they cannot. Because, in
order to protect the wealth that they got, they have
to keep praising the kings. Thus, tolerating the
destruction of their true nature, they earn wealth in
order to support their stomach. Such a wealth is not
needed for us. Our wealth is Him who will support us
in both the body's journey as well as the soul's
journey.
The phrase "abindhanandhanan-jaya" refers to the
jAtharAgni. That is, the fire that expects food and
water. The dhananjaya word stands for both fire and
Arjuna. Here it stands for fire and in the third line
it stands for Arjuna. In the second line, the wealth
talked about is meant to satisfy the fire in the
stomach. As opposed to that, the third line talks of
the wealth that protects Arjuna.
The word dhana repeats seven times in the second part
of this shloka. This is to show that the true wealth
that is Him, will be with us in all seven births
("eRRaikkum EzhEzh piRavikkum").
udUDha govardhanam talks about Him lifting the
Govardhana mountain to protect the yadavas from the
anger of Indra. Another meaning for "go" is speech.
So, the meaning that He protects speech is also
obtained here. That is, wealth of this world builds
the stomach, while this wealth build the mind.
susAdhanam shows that the usual wealth is the means
to get only the lowly items of this world, whereas
He is the means to get the superior things of the
other world. That is, the lowly means are to be given
up.
abAdhanam shows that the lowly wealth will get
depleted as it is used. He is the wealth that never
goes down. Dangers such as being stolen also do not
affect this wealth.
sumanasAm samArAdhanam says that He is the wealth
that gives great pleasure to the wise and the devas.
Vedanta Desikar Thiruvadigale Sharanam
Azhvar Emberumanar Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Sharanam